Mother’s visual anomaly gives unique insight into brain injuries

Melina Canning, who had a stroke 20 years ago, with her daughter StephanieJohn Jeffay/Cascade News

For years doctors were mystified about how a blind mother could see her daughter’s ponytail bobbing when she walked but not her facial features.

Scientists have now discovered why Milena Canning, from Wishaw, Lanarkshire, can detect objects but only if they are moving.

The researchers say that tissue the size of an apple is missing at the back of her brain in the region that handles vision. However, they believe that her brain has found a way to bypass this blockage and process some vision, particularly motion.

Mrs Canning, 48, told researchers: “I can’t see like normal people see or like I used to see. The things I’m seeing are really strange.”

She has been blind for 18 years after falling ill with a respiratory…

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